The present invention relates to a reinforced plastic handrail security system and more particularly to a handrail system having improved interconnections.
Security railings have long been used for a variety of applications, such as multi-story buildings with stairways and balconies, industrial buildings, playgrounds and schools, among any number of others of a wide variety of uses. Many of these uses are outdoors, where the security railing is exposed to the weather and other corrosive elements, such as salt water, chemical vapors, and the like. Building codes require the use of high-strength materials, such as iron, steel, aluminum and the like to provide the sufficient rigidity and strength to ensure adequate security qualities, and these types of railing systems often present a problem of rusting and/or corrosion of the metallic parts. In addition to the corrosion being unsightly and requiring constant care and upkeep, the corrosion of the security railing often degrades the strength and security aspects of the railing to the point where they no longer function for their intended purpose. This is particularly true with outdoor railings used in highly corrosive environments.
In an attempt to overcome these problems, a number of fence systems made out of plastic have been proposed by the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,140 to Clemens et al. is directed to a non-corrosive plastic handrail system used for stairways, platforms and the like in corrosive environments where the strength of the system depends upon the use of a thermosetting resin and high-tensile strength reinforcing fibers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,461 to Caron teaches the use of a laminated railing formed from a polyvinyl chloride pipe using a laminated structure of two types wherein a smaller pipe has an outside diameter essentially equal to the inside diameter of the larger pipe.
Another Caron U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,754, relates to a similar polyvinyl chloride pipe handrail security system using a specific arrangement of fittings and cylindrical joint aligners made out of a solid cylinder of PVC which extends across each joint.
Other security railing systems are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. to Schroer (2,834,621), Heywood (3,353,853), Schroer (3,471,182), Snyder et al. (3,787,033), Hammerschmidt (3,804,542), Parisien (4,101,226), Russell (4,892,292), Ballerstein (4,952,092) and Evans et al. (GB 683,386), among others, which use specific joint connectors.
One of the shortcomings of the prior art rail systems of the type described above is the requirement for a plurality of joint connectors in order to provide the sufficient strength and rigidity to meet the code requirements for security railings. The use of many joints and shorter sections of rail tend to be aesthetically undesirable, particularly where the railings are used in home or retail store environments.
The present invention relates to a reinforced plastic railing using elongated rails and posts formed of a plurality of coped interconnecting sections. The features of the system include the use of unique joints for connecting the reinforced rails which ensures continuity in design and strength.
Among the objects of the present invention are the provision of an improved plastic reinforced handrail security system having elongated rails providing an aesthetically pleasing appearance while maintaining the requisite strength and rigidity required by building codes; the provision of a handrail security system which requires little maintenance and resists the efforts of a corrosive environment; the provision of a handrail security system using elongated rail members, coped posts and unique interconnection joints.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.